Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-12-22


jects If we would learn the speed of a
racing man we must judge of him not while
he is sitting down, or standing still, but
while he Is running. Thus the power Of an
age to be cheerful must be judged from its
conduct upon those days which are devoted
to festivity. II the times of public rejoicing
can bring but little gladness, the other days
of the year must be reckoned as full of
hardship.
Could we compare together the December
of the first century, the December of the
Puritans and the December of 1887, those
three pictures would contain almost the
whole history of those differing dates. They
would be photographs of three differing
faces-faces containing some points of re-
semblance but also many unlike features
Christmas proper is never day. 1t is
really week or about month. When the
almanac says December has come, then all
hearts begin to feel the presence OF that
midwinter festival Each day adds to the
power of this feeling The work of sisters,
mothers, wives has some bearing upon the
twenty fifth, and while that day is still far
off by the estimate of the sun it is wonder
fully near in the estimate of the heart AS
the trees and verdure along river are
blessed by the rivers moisture if only in
the form of damp air and heavier dew,
so the days long before Christmas are
touched with its spirit-the dew of its love
The modern face would be brightest the
saddest one would be that one nearest to
the tomb or cradle of Jesus Christ
The Romans perceived that one day did
not contain all the import of the midsum-
mer gayety. They therefore made no eff
fort to crowd their season into single sun.
Their Saturnaia continued seven days. 1t
began as a one-day celebration and was
observed December 18th, but as it was
soon found that that brief period was a
cup too small to contain the wine of pleas
ure it was extended to three days; at last
it was enlarged by the Emperor Claudian SO
as to take in the Goth In form, the festi-
val has now been changed back into the
one-day shape, but in reality Christmas is
much larger under our Presidents than it
was under Claudian and Caligula
It is great mid-winter period, and may
well be looked upon as type of the public
happiness or the public misfortunes of a
given date. In the early Christian church
it became single day, because being asked
to stand for the birth Of Jesus it had to be
formal day rather than week. but ne
such limitation could keep it from having
adjacent times which partook of it's spirit,
as dawn partakes Of day
The earliest Christmas was the saddest
the latest is the most joyful The heart
SluhS WHSu IL IcCsilIS tl1S IdCt tudG our pine
trees which bend with presents for old and
young, that our reunions of relatives our
parties, amusements and cessation of labor
came from foundations that were laid In
tears While the early Christians were at
tempting to celebrate their favorite day,
the Roman authorities were watching
them and arresting them as being enemies
of the regular satnrndiia and friends of a
new religion That feast which is now Gel
ebrated in every parlor and dining room
and which cheers up all the streets of every
city and village was once observed in the
caves in the hills or in the catacombs
under the streets of Rome. Rome, like
Paris, was built upon solid rock The ex-
cavations made by stone quarries ran here
and there underground like the out-reach-
ing drifts Of a mine. Into these cayerns